Tips and Tricks
Here are some tips and tricks to moderation as well as things to try and avoid and take into account. Communication is Key To be the most effective team when it comes to moderation, you need to work together and the best way to do that is to have great communication between the moderators and the streamer. Some of the best channels of communication are Discord chats, whether they be DMs or a private channel in a server only the mods and streamer can see. Make good habits into speaking with your streamer and team well before streams, especially if you will be unable to make the stream to moderate. It is even more important to speak with your streamer on a frequent basis if they don’t have a set streaming schedule and getting into a habit of always knowing when they might want to stream. Discord is a fantastic tool that users can use outside of Twitch to plan and talk with each other. You can make plans for future streams as well as let people know in a more private place about issues or the potential of missing stream. We highly suggest setting up a Discord server or channel in a server for communication between the mod team and the streamer as well. More on the app itself down in the Moderation Tools section. Talking with your fellow moderators/streamer when planning for a stream is imperative to know who will be available to help out. Some streamers don’t really think about discussing with their mods, but like in the case with The8BitDrummer, he talks to his moderators in a voice chat before every stream to take care of everything before he goes live. If your streamer isn’t being very communicative, make the initiative and reach out to them to get some conversation going regarding streams. For a funny take on the issues that a lack of communication can cause, watch this short video by LLance (caution: profanity) that perfectly encapsulates the problems with no communication between the streamer and moderators. Spotting Problem Users There will always be trolls on the internet. This is just a fact of life that we have to live with, but sometimes it is very easy to spot the troll from a mile away. Names are big clues as to who the person is, as well as the first interactions in chat. It is never suggested to ban or time out any random person on sight based on a “hunch”, but you should keep a close eye on that user. Just some sketchy behavior to watch out for: * Streamer based names, especially after someone has been banned. * People coming in and clearly ignoring the rules and breaking them immediately. (You see the rules the first thing when you join a chat) * People clearly ignoring moderators and breaking the rules. * People posting links only. * People coming in to self promote. * People coming in and only complaining about (insert anything here) without actually contributing to the conversation. * People disrespecting others and getting upset if they get called out. * People who complain about getting timed out if they break the rules. * People who post sexist comments/sexual remarks/hate speech/etc. * Users whose account has only been made for a short amount of time. ** New users aren’t always a problem, but many times people make alt accounts to troll. ** On Twitch you can click on a user in chat and it will show the account creation date. Streamer Representation Be aware that you represent the streamer at all times. It doesn’t matter what platform you are on, as long as you have the same name/are known to be the same person you are representing your streamer. Make sure you treat everyone the same way you would in a chat in places like Discord servers, Twitter, Reddit, etc. If people see you acting like a fool in another streamer’s chat, that will show poorly on your streamer. On the other side of the coin, as a mod is the extension of a streamer, if the streamer isn’t a great person, that can be connected back to the mod. Moderator Density Also known as the “Mod wall”, it is important to know how many moderators are needed for the size of the stream a person has. If you feel there are far too many mods in the stream, discuss it with the team and your streamer. You don’t want to bury the regular chatters in the sea of green swords, especially if that sea is due to mods not being hit by the spam filter. The bigger issue exists here, as some mods may spam or drown other users out. It is easier to see someone with a sword than someone without to read their message as well. Normal users can’t post as many messages as they want generally in a chat in a small amount of time, but moderators can, so it is important not to abuse that power. Stream Attendance It is okay to not show up especially if your mental health is in jeopardy, do not feel pressured to show up to every stream. If you are one of the only people who show up on a regular basis, speak with your team and streamer. There should be more than just you in any stream at the same time no matter what, especially if you want to make sure you aren’t the only one pulling the weight. As most moderators stream for free, it is important to remember that you are doing this because you want to and if you have other things going on it’s alright to miss streams. If the streamer gets upset at you over missing streams, you might want to find somewhere else to help out. Be Fair, Unbiased, and Consistent We know it’s hard to time out or even ban your friends. For the most part, most people want to let some things slide due to friendships, influential people in the community, etc. It is important however that you are never biased towards a user. If someone is doing something that is clearly against the rules, no matter who they are it is your duty to address that situation. If the moderators for a streamer are seen to be biased, that puts a bad light on the streamer as well. Always keep a level head when dealing with situations. Sometimes confronting problems might spike your adrenaline and make you quick to react. Do remember though that rash decisions especially in the heat of the moment can lead to bigger issues. This goes into the discussion of longtime supporters which we discuss on the Major Issues page, as well as others on your moderation team as well. People shouldn’t have preferential treatment given to them if they are making the chat a worse place for more users to be in, and it really shows when a mod might time one person out for something but lets someone else get by without acting on them. Category:Pages